This podcast episode was produced for the glory of God and is brought to you in part by the Revive Our Hearts monthly partner team.

24 million children live in a home absent from their father. That's one out of three.

This is spoken word artist Blair Lynn. She was one of those women who grew up with an absent father.

When I was three years old, my mom moved from Chicago to Los Angeles.

And so I'm 300,000 miles away from my dad.

And so our relationship was really, it was over the phone. And my dad is, he has a wonderful heart, he's such a kind man, but I felt like, I want to really get to know you.

I want you to really know me and know what's going on.

And so it was really hard for me, hard for me to understand my identity, who I was.

And so I wanted to talk to him and say

this is really hard but I was too scared I felt like if I open up to my dad and

share with him how I feel that maybe he'll maybe I won't have these conversations

every few months you know maybe that will be taken away too.

So fear kept me quiet.

And it wasn't until I was around 18.

Then I started being approached by guys and thinking,

I have no idea what to even look for in a spouse, in a guy, right?

So I had no model to go by.

And as a result, I didn't have my dad's protection, right? So I had no model to go by. And as a result, I didn't have my dad's protection, right?

So I found myself making compromises with men in hopes that, you know, I would find out who I was.

Nancy DeMas Walgamoos says, when a woman is in a situation like this, it greatly affects how she views her heavenly father.

As women, our view of God is often shaped and strongly influenced by the men that we have known in our lives.

And more so by a father or a husband or brothers, men that are closely

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